K3 visa for a husband or wife.
The purpose of new K visa is to reunite families that have been or
could be subject to a long period of separation during the process
of immigrating to the United States. Holders of the new K visas will
be able to wait in the US for the immigration process to be completed.
The new parts of the K category are intended for use by both a spouse
of a United States citizen and by the spouse's children. The nonimmigrant
visa for the spouse is called a K3 visa and the visa for the spouse’s
children is called a K4.
Spouses of U.S. citizens, and the spouse's children, can come to
the United States on nonimmigrant visas, K3 and K4, and wait in the
United States to complete the immigration process. Before a K-4 visa
can be issued to a child, the parent must have a K-3 visa or be in
K-3 status.
US immigration law defines a spouse as:
A spouse is a legally wedded husband or wife. Cohabiting partners
do not qualify as spouses for immigration purposes. Common-law spouses
may qualify as spouses for immigration purposes depending on the laws
of the country where the common-law marriage occurs. In cases of polygamy
only the first spouse qualifies as a spouse for immigration.
US law does not allow polygamy. If you were married before, you and
your spouse must show that you ended (terminated) all previous marriages
before your current marriage. The death and divorce documents that
show termination of marriages must be legal and verifiable in the
country that issued them. Divorces must be final. In cases of legal
marriage to two or more spouses at the same time, or marriages overlapping
for a period of time, you may file only for the first spouse.
Filing K3 visa petitions.
You must first file an immigrant Petition for Alien Relative, form
I-130 for your spouse with the BCIS Office that serves the area where
you live. The BCIS will send you a Notice of Action (Form I-797) receipt
notice. This notice tells you that the BCIS has received the petition.
You next file Petition for Alien Fiance, form I-129F for your spouse
and children. Send the I-129F petition, supporting documents and a
copy of the Form I-797 receipt notice to this Department of Homeland
Security BCIS Address on their web site.
National Visa Center.
After the BCIS approves the I-129F, it sends it to the National
Visa Center (NVC). The NVC sends the petition electronically to
the embassy or consulate in the country where the marriage took place.
If your marriage took place in the United States, the NVC sends the
petition to the embassy or consulate that issues visas in the country
of your spouse's nationality.
If your marriage took place in a country that does not have an American
embassy, or the embassy does not issue visas, the NVC sends the petition
to the embassy or consulate that normally processes visas for citizens
of that country.
A spouse of a US citizen K3 is also an Immigrant.
The spouse of a U.S. citizen applying for a nonimmigrant visa K3
must have an immigrant visa petition on his/her behalf by the U.S.
citizen spouse. Therefore, the spouse of the U.S. citizen (the K-3
applicant) must meet some of the requirements of an immigrant visa.
The embassy or consulate where you, the spouse of an American citizen,
will apply for a K3 visa must be in the country where your marriage
took place. The embassy or consulate will let you know any additional
things to do, such as where you need to go for the required medical
examination. The following is required:
Documents in foreign languages should be translated. Take clear,
legible photocopies of civil documents, such as birth and marriage
certificates, to the visa interview. Original documents can then be
returned to you.
The I-129F petition is valid for four months from the date of approval.
A consular officer can extend the validity of the petition (revalidate
the petition) if it expires before you finish processing the visa.
Children of a K3 visa holder have derivative status.
Children do not need separate Petition for Alien Relative, I-130
petitions, but you, the petitioner, must take care to name all your
children on the Petition for Alien Fiance, I-129F petition. If you
do not name the children on the petition, they may find it difficult
to prove their identity as children of a K 3 applicant or person in
K 3 status.
You must file separate I-130 immigrant visa petitions for your children
before they qualify for permanent residence. When they adjust status
in the United States, they must file Form I-485 Application to Register
Permanent Residence or to Adjust
Status with the BCIS Office that serves the area where you live.
Remember that in immigration law children must be unmarried and under
21 years of age.
Work permit for a K3 visa holder.
As a K-3 visa holder, you can file form I-765, Application for Employment
Authorization with the BCIS that serves the area where you live for
an employment authorization document (work permit).
Certain conditions and activities may make an applicant ineligible
for a K3 visa.
Drug trafficking
Having HIV/AIDS
Overstaying a previous visa
Practicing polygamy
Advocating the overthrow of the government
Submitting fraudulent documents
The consular officer will inform you, the visa applicant, if you are
ineligible for a visa, whether there is a waiver of the ineligibility
and what the waiver process is.
A child of a spouse with a K4 visa status.
To qualify for K4 issuance, an applicant must be the minor, unmarried
child under 21 years of age of a qualified K3 visa applicant. The
U.S. citizen who files an I-129F petition for an alien spouse does
not have to file a separate I-129F petition for a child of his/her
spouse. These children should be listed on the I-129F petition for
the spouse. While the U.S. citizen
must also file an I-130 petition for the alien spouse, there is no
requirement to file a Form I-130 immigrant visa petition on behalf
of the alien's children seeking K4 nonimmigrant status. The K4 child
will not be able to file for adjustment of status in the United States
until the U.S. citizen parent/step-parent files a I-130 on behalf
of the child. If the U.S. citizen parent/step-parent never files the
I-130 petition, the immigrating parent may do so once he/she has obtained
legal permanent resident (LPR) status, but the child would have to
wait for an available visa number.
K3 and K4 visa holders cannot change status in the United
States to another non-immigrant visa category. Aliens present
in the United States in a K3 or K4 nonimmigrant visa status can travel
outside of the United States and return using their K3 K4 visa. If
they have filed for adjustment of status in the U.S. prior to departure
from the U.S., BCIS will not presume that the departure constitutes
abandonment of an adjustment application.
American
citizens have two ways to bring their foreign husbands or wives to
the United States to live.
